9.1 A year of the Bands do BK book
The baaaaaaby is turning ONE — and you're invited to celebrate <3
WHAT IS LIFE? WHAT IS TIME? WHAT IS ANYTHING?!?!?
Sam here. It seems like only yesterday I was flipping legit shit and having literal nightmares about the pending release of the Bands do BK book (turns out releasing a creative work into the world is a very vulnerable, and pretty terrifying experience!) (who knew?) (why didn’t anyone warn me?!), and suddenly, justlikethat, it’s been almost a year since my baby was released into the world and hit both IRL and internet shelves—
They really do grow up so fast.
As a 34(ish) year old, I have enough friends with actual children to realize that the first birthday is definitely something worth celebrating, but in lieu of guilting you into an ill-advised trip to the shriek-filled vomit factory that is Chuck E. Cheese — thought don’t get me wrong, I do love me some skee ball! — I am instead (of course) inviting you to celebrate via show. More specifically: a Book b-day bash at The Broadway featuring Sharkswimmer + Climates (also celebrating their single release!) + MamajoeVramajoe + Extra Special — just a few of the hundreds of artists featured within the pages of the BdBK book.
(HUGE thanks to Justin of Sharkswimmer for the flyer.) (And for my brand-new shark tattoo — what can I say, I commit to the bit.)
To get us properly pumped for the event commemorating one year since the birth of something that, for the record, took me waaay longer than 9 months to make, please find the book entry on The Broadway below, along with THE COVER ALBUM—a Spotify playlist featuring 37 of the artists/bands whose faces, in polaroid form, are collaged to form the cover.
Equal parts guidebook, oral history and music-fan memoir, the BdBK book is available for purchase via various websites here. (I’ll also have some for sale at The Broadway!) Huge thanks to my publisher Lit Riot Press, to very artist who contributed to make this project possible and to everyone who has supported it (and me) for the last ~52 weeks. I appreciate you more than you know.
ALRIGHT! That’s it for me. Next SETLIST is coming your way via SKORTS, so get stoked for that! In the meantime, have a beautiful long weekend. Hope to see you Wednesday <3
[BUT FIRST: PRESS PLAY]
The Broadway
Jono Bernstein, Jessica Louise Dye (High Waisted); Ethan Alexander (So and So); Gillian Visco (Shadow Monster); Zach Ellis (Dead Tooth); Nico E.P. (Deaf Poets); Connor Jones, William Thompson (Yella Belly); Gino Gianoli (Duke of Vandals); Dan Barrecchia, Joey Giambra, Ed Weisgerber (Shred Flintstone)
Jessica Louise Dye: A lot of these places that have left opened up room for new spaces to fill in. So I know we were one of the first bands to play The Gateway a bazillion years ago.
Jono Bernstein: Which is now The Broadway. It was Paradise and then it turned into The Gateway.
Ethan Alexander: Before it was The Broadway, it was The Gateway, a pretty infamous, trashy place.
Gillian Visco: I have a few fond memories of The Gateway. Some people have other types of memories from The Gateway. I always had a great time there.
Zach Ellis: I went there once, and the amp they had hadn’t been turned on in a very long time and just sounded like there were bees in it or some shit. But The Broadway, they turned that shit around.
Nico E.P.: They’ve been having a lot of sick shows. One of the first times we checked it out, we came to watch The Muckers, which is a sick band. Sound is incredible, the vibe is awesome.
Gillian Visco: The sound system is amazing.
Ethan Alexander: The one thing that everyone always says about that place is that the sound for the musicians is incredible. So instead of it sounding like a garbled mess, you know, they really put in the extra mile to make the electronic side of it good, which I don’t think many other places, even venues, think about. Even the indie soft-boi rock people who come in there are like, “Wow, it sounds so clear.” If the prima donnas of the scene like it, I guess it’s pretty good.
Gillian Visco: Since they opened, a lot of our friends have started bartending there. That just always makes it better. It’s nice. It feels like home.
Connor Jones: One of my co-workers at Reclamation and a good friend of ours works there, so that’s my new Monday [and] Tuesday go-to. Also, my good buddy Eric works there, and you should tip him.
William Thompson: We are all about the tipping.
Connor Jones: Yeah, that’s how we survive!
Ethan Alexander: It’s the best bar job I’ve ever had. The people who did the hiring, specifically Lance, you can tell he was trying to create a group of people that would actually get along with each other and enjoy working there. And I think that shows.
I also think that all the people that work at Broadway are kind of sassy people. I know that there’s probably several people who’ve had a bad experience at Broadway specifically because all of us don’t really put up with a lot of the same bar bullshit that a lot of other bars put up with, which is one thing I really like, and I know that when my friends come in, they kind of like that, too. You know, if there’s an old man ordering a Manhattan with his wife, thinking they’re gonna relive the glory days, they’re probably gonna have a really bad time at Broadway.
Gino Gianoli: We played a few times there. We felt like every time that we were there, it was just a party.
Ethan Alexander: Getting gigs there isn’t that hard as long as you can make sure people come out, which is one thing I always appreciated about Broadway, as opposed to other places. Like you really can play any genre of music. We’ve had drag shows there. It’s not just a punk bar. Even though the staff would probably fool you on that.
Jono Bernstein: Paradise was around for so long in that area of Brooklyn. Whoever is holding that spot needs to understand that they’re a big part of the community beyond just throwing like rock shows.
Ethan Alexander: I will say out of any of the places I’ve ever played in Brooklyn, The Broadway goes above and beyond to take care of the musicians. Especially in this scene, as a musician in Brooklyn, [everyone] understands at some level that they’re never gonna make it. They’re never gonna make any money. And at the end of the day, you’re doing it because you love it, not because you’re trying to make money. But it is really nice when the bar is not trying to screw you over.
Joey Giambra: They always treat us really good there. It’s just really great hospitality, everything’s really organized, they really help out the bands, making sure that they get the funds that they need.
Gillian Visco: There’s tacos and they feed their musicians, which is really cool. They’re like, “Here’s your drink tickets and here’s your taco tickets.”
Ed Weisgerber: And the green room with the private bathroom. That’s a major plus.
Ethan Alexander: It’s like a choose-your-own-vibe adventure book. You can just have casual cocktails, play pool. Or you can sit at the bar, do beers and shots, or go upstairs and see a show, or go downstairs and sober up.
Gillian Visco: They definitely put a lot of attention into the aesthetic of the room. It’s like this weird Quentin Tarantino vibe downstairs, retro, like the seventies.
Dan Barrecchia: It’s kinda this old-fashioned spot. It’s nice, but at the same time it has this old spirit to it. There’s something really cool about that place that I can’t put my finger on.
Ed Weisgerber: It’s got some magic.
Dan Barrecchia: There’s some magic there, like you’d see that place in a movie.
Excerpt above from the BdBK book.
Feature image by Lit Riot Press.
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
It’s BANDCAMP FRIDAY (***AIRHORN NOISE***) which means the site is waiving all fees. At this point, you know what to do: Buy some music, cop some merch, support some bands. YEEHAW!
Our own Kira Metcalf is currently in the quarter finals of The Opening Act and is competing to play a show at The Prudential Center! Take two seconds to support a very talented artist in our scene by throwing her a vote here.
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, our Icelandic babes Karma Brigade can no longer come next weekend (😭😭😭😭😭), BUT THE SHOWS MUST GO ON! And as we’ve curated some extremely dreamy lineups — with recent, very rad replacements — we’d still love to see you out for the following shows:
9.7 O.Wake, Obleek, Go Home, Shining Hours, @ Bar Freda (tix here)
9.8 Mary Shelley, Moonunitt, the plebs, Telescope Club @ RUBULAD (tix here)
9/10 partygirl, Skorts, Demonstrator and more @ Arlene’s Grocery (tix here)
And come November… group pilgrimage to Iceland Airwaves, anyone?! 👀
We’ve announced our first BANDSKETBALL performer: Work Wife!
As a refresher, BANDSKETBALL is Brooklyn’s (probably) first BAND VS. BAND CHARITY BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT AND MUSIC FESTIVAL presented by Show Brain , The Hoops Commission and BdBK to raise funds for Willie Mae Rock Camp —“a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering girls and gender-expansive youth through music education and mentorship.” The fun goes down Sunday, September 24th at 18th Ward Brewing! More announcements on the way with music lineup, DJs, bonus activities and more.RSVP HERE to attend and support the camp + follow @bandsketballin_bk for updates on playing and performing bands as the event approaches.
RELEASE RADAR
New(ish) stuff from local (+ occasionally, once-local) artists we love, listed in no order whatsoever:
“SPLASHH!!” // P.E.
'“Fountainhead” // Nara’s Room
“East River Swimmer” // Petite League
“how to be a river (an affirmation story)” // Dianna Lopez
I Might Die Tonight // Sam Zalta
IT’S HAPPENIN’
Here’s a look at the events we’ve got coming up. Mark your calendars and come hang!
9.6 BdBK — THE BOOK! — Birthday Bash w/ Sharkswimmer, Climates (single release!), MamajoVramajoe, Extra Special @ The Broadway (tix here)
ICYMI
Around the blog and from the archives
SPOTLIGHT: “Someone Looking Out” from Peter Wise
THE SETLIST by Bands do BK is a reader-supported publication that’s freeeee. BUT! If you want to become a paid subscriber to show some love and support the work BdBK is doing… well, hey. That’d be pretty rad of you. <3
Thx 4 reading! Find more fun stuff at bandsdobk.com and @bandsdobk. <3
Order the Bands do BK BOOK (!) (out now via Lit Riot Press) here.